Customer Reviews

The Byrds: Under Review

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4 star:		(2)
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I have just spent an entire afternoon viewing this. If you are in any way interested in the The Byrds then you will find this attractive little package to be truly enthralling. If you are a Beatles fan as well and you enjoyed the 'Anthology' DVDs then this certainly will not disappoint. It begins with a highly intelligent analysis of the ferment that mid 60s America experienced. From then on all the Byrds albums (except the reunion one from 1973 on Asylum)are examined in some depth. Throughout all this, the highly knowledgable experts consider just what it was that made this wonderful band so special. A most welcome quality is the way it gives roughly equal time to each phase in the group's history - and so the second disk is devoted almost entirely to the post 1967 period. To this end there are lengthy and extremely thoughtful insights from latterday Byrds, John York and Gene Parsons. To top it all the extremely versatile Mr York has written and performed on 12 string guitar, a most engaging little score that initially has you wondering which early Byrds album it comes from. Up to now the best biography has been Johnny Rogan's 'Timeless Flight Revisited'. This latest release would serve as a superb companion piece to that. I've been a Byrds'devotee ever since first hearing them on Radio Caroline in the summer of '65 .... but I learnt a great deal from this.

I have been a fan of the Byrds since 1965, and I expected great things from this DVD. There isn't a lot out there, visually, on the band, so this was a real treat.At least until I watched it. There are no complete performances, and many times you'll see a performance without music...just someone talking over the scene. Only two former Byrds were interviewed, those being John York and Gene Parsons. Yes, I understand that many Byrd's members are no longer walking the Earth, but NO CHRIS HILLMAN? NO ROGER MCGUINN? VERY LITTLE CROSBY? As much as I enjoy the latter day Byrds with both Mr. York and Mr. Parsons, I would've enjoyed the viewpoint of some of the remaining founders. The box does say that neither CBS or some of the band members endorse the documentary and the producers were probably very limited in their interview sources, but I wonder why the above mentioned members chose not to participate. Anyway, I was not impressed with this DVD. Why can't someone produce a DVD using complete performances of the many Byrds phases? The footage obviously exists. I paid 21.00 for this DVD and will probably sell or trade it. You can get all the information on the set from Johnny Rogan's excellent book on the Byrds. This is less than the Byrds deserve.

As a longtime fan I was pleasantly surprised to find this a fresh retrospective on the Byrds that is well worth seeing.

The program opens with a look at the folk and rock background from which the original members emerged. Then how the Byrds forged an original sound that fit between Dylan and the Beatles.

After that, the history is simply traced album-by-album, with documentary footage and snippets of songs from each album. Disk I covers the first 5 albums, "Mr. Tambourine Man" through "Notorious Byrds Brothers." Disk II finishes out their run on Columbia from "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" to "Farther Along".

Other reviewers complained this was "not what they expected". Thanks to them I wasn't looking for something else.

Truthfully this may not "entertain" those unfamiliar with the Byrds and their music. The surviving original Byrds - Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Chris Hillman - do not appear as commentators except in brief archival footage.

Surprisingly, that didn't bother me -- I found it refreshing. A Byrds fan who has read "Timeless Flight Revisited" or the Byrds CD booklets, or seen other rock retrospective DVDs, pretty much knows what they have to say at each point in this story. So it was kind of nice not to have to sit through yet another reiteration of their perspectives.

Instead, they are rightfully the subjects of this history, where their music and careers are evaluated by some highly qualified commentators.

Johnny Rogan, author of the superb Byrds biography "Timeless Flight Revisited" is the commentator with most wide ranging knowledge of the band and its history. Van Dyke Parks (who played keyboards on "5D"), John York (bass player in "Dr. Byrds" period), Gene Parsons (post-Clarke drummer), Rolling Stone rock writers, and a guitarist from the legendary session band "Wrecking Crew" offer unique perspectives on various albums and periods. John York is especially well spoken on music in general and how the Byrds fit into their time.

The result is no simple rehash.

If you are a fan of the Byrds, or want to learn more about them and their music, this is a pretty good place to start.

I watched the entire documentary including the extra features. I want to say that I was initially discouraged by the following statement on the back of the boxset cover: "This DVD is not authorized by all the Byrds or by Columbia records."
This statement probably represents why Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman are notably absent.
I would have also liked to have seen some type of old video clips of interviews with Gene Clark, Gram Parsons, Clarence White, Michael Clarke, Skip Battin, Terry Melcher and Jim Dickson if they even exist.
I enjoyed everything that York, Parsons and others shared about each album. I guess that I got bored at times not seeing a "fresh" speaker share a different viewpoint. Overall, I think that it is a must for all Byrd fans.

Byrd completists will find this DVD a valuable addition to their collections, but casual fans will probably be underwhelmed. The absence of input by McGuinn, Crosby or Hillman, probably for financial reasons, keeps this documentary out of "must-have" status. But overall, it is well-produced and informative.
The joke about Terry Melcher and the "most obnoxious person" he ever worked with, is by itself worth the price of this DVD set. I kid you not.

Right on the DVD cover is a statement saying not authorized by the Byrds McGuinn, Hillman or Crosby--that should be your first clue. The DVDs consist of performances by the Byrds which are cut off and short and a lot of talking by persons close to Byrd members stating their opinions of how the Byrds involved. I was extremely disappointed. How can you have a DVD set like this without MCGuinn-Hillman-Crosby input--the ones who know the exact story. Having two of the latter day Byrds on was OK but you need the original group to start the story. I learned alot more about the Byrds start from talking to Chris Hillman at one of his recent club appearances in San Francisco than from this DVD set. Don't bother with this --hoefully the original members left will come out and contribute to a better film about the Byrds--it is long overdue.

We here at Byrds Flyght have just received the brand new double DVD called THE BYRDS - UNDER REVIEW - A DOCUMENTARY FILM

With 3 hours and 13 minutes dedicated to The Byrds, it allows some people who were involved with the Byrds (including ex-members John York and Gene Parsons) to express their points of view for the first time on such a release.

Five minutes into watching, and already incredible exerpts from live performances by The New Christy Minstrels with Gene Clark!

We've spent the last 3 and a half hours viewing these DVDs, and there's no other thing like that for true Byrds fans. It goes deep into details of all eras of the band's career.

Recommended!!!

The Byrds: Under Review is a first rate production, excellent for both Byrds fans and the uninitiated. It spans the history of the band, focusing on each album.

Great selection of interviews, including (briefly) original Byrds David Crosby and Chris Hillman and (at length) later Byrds John York and Gene Parsons (who expertly demonstrates the Parsons-White String Bender, which he invented for and with Clarence White, in a bonus feature). Roger McGuinn is conspicuously absent from among the interviewees, the reason not being revealed. Parsons and especially York add a lot of insight into the Byrds' "country-rock" period. Also adding interesting and valuable details are musicians who contributed to the Byrds' music, like Byron Berline and Vern Gosdin, and especially Van Dyke Parks.

Finally, four "talking heads" (i.e., rock music writers/critics, two American and two British) offer perspective and generally intelligent critique, showing an appreciation for the Byrds' unique place in rock history, both in terms of the band's breath-taking originality and ground-breaking impact on other musicians. At the same time, they make fair criticisms of the weaker Byrds albums. More footage of live performances would have been a great addition, but maybe time constraints disallow that on projects like this.

Overall, totally cool.

As a long-time fan of the Byrds I was excited to view this retrospective. I found it to be a real appreciation of what was behind the music and less about the personalities involved. Both Van Dyke Parks and John York provided musical insights that truly informs the viewer of what made the music so special.

If you're looking for lots of interviews with band members you will be disappointed. However, if you want to understand the effect these guys (in all of their incarnations) had on the 60's - 70's music scene, give it a look.

Even if you know the Byrds, this review brings you a lot of information and opinions of insiders. If you start watching, you will not stop till the end (only to change the DVD). If you were looking for music, this ist not your product. But if you want to know und understand, what happened, then you will not find a better source!